Two Hearts are Twice the Pain
by jakala
Summary: The lonely Doctor seeks distraction to avoid being consumed by his lost love but finds more than he bargained for!
1. Chapter 1

He was gasping, panting, storming the fortress of her young, innocent body with his eager hands. The first obstacle, her outer clothing, had easily been infiltrated, and now he hastily unfastened the inner defenses. She was helpless before him. She fell against the control panels, sending them into unknown places, and he followed, plunging into the secret parts of her body.

He felt her soft, sweat skin in his hands, desiring to have all of her at once in his grasp. Rose's soft, beautiful, chocolaty brown skin hot against his…

The Doctor awoke startled, panting and sweaty. He pushed the hair away from his brow and sighed. This was the third night in a row.

He put on his dressing gown and moved heartlessly to the control room of the TARDIS. He surveyed the room, which was utterly vacant. The loneliness hit him like a brick to his stomach, making him gasp. This was where he had almost had her, held her in a way so much more real than his dream… his tainted dream. Why, why had _she _been there? Why did it have to be her—why did it have to be anyone else when it should have been Rose?

He felt so utterly alone, only the cold machinery to keep him company. Cold like he wished he could be. Unfeeling. Unaffected by the pain. But he had two hearts beating...and they both were beating for her. He tried to distract himself, fiddling with the switches and buttons. He started to feel a wild passion inside, recalling the dream. He moved them around, without aim, hoping that they would somehow magically bring him to her. He bit his bottom lip and closed his eyes and pushed more buttons and pulled more levers until the tardis jerked violently and he felt it land. He stood at the door about to go out and see where he was but he realized he was still in his dressing gown. He hurried to make himself presentable enough on the outside. He had to look the part. Even if he didn't feel like The Doctor he had to be The Doctor.

He opened the door to see his new location, picked in a flurry or random angst. light outlined him as he looked out.

He held his breath as he passed through the doorway, then released it in a bewildered sigh as he looked out on the landscape before him. Why had the TARDIS brought him here? He was standing on the grassy hillside of the first planet he had taken her to after his regeneration, only now it had a different look. This ground he was standing upon was centuries away from where he had stood with her. As he took in the valley below him, he also remembered another passenger who had come to this place with him.

"Martha..." he mouthed the word and felt his chest tighten at the remembrance of how she had appeared in his dream where Rose had been. Suddenly, he felt a wave of horror and hot rage surge through his veins. There, of course, had been times previously when that woman had caused him pain or annoyance, but now he fully hated her. She had taken away his grieving time for Rose by stepping into his life as she had and fawning all over him, and now she was sneaking into his fantasies... why? Undeniably, he had looked upon her with certain lustful feelings (after all, she was a beautiful girl, and he was a man), but he had never _felt_ anything for her. Not the way it was with Rose.

He brushed these throughts aside and tried to walk briskly down the hillside, but stumbled on his way. He was entirely out of sorts. He felt that not only his hearts, but his entire body ached.

As he came to the bottom of the hill, he noted that the world he was in was some one hundred years earlier before the one he had come to with Rose, and he wondered if the cat nuns were already gracing the planet.

The Doctor breathed deeply, trying to keep his facial expression from betraying his inner turmoil. He had to be calm. Find a distraction to keep him from going insane. There must be some crisis here he could step into and do what he did best, save the world! And maybe, just for a short time, he could for get her....forget THEM. He closed his eyes for a moment and opened them, a flame seem to blaze in each iris as brought to life the take charge persona he was so good at holding. He walked purposefully into the town. It was much smaller than it would be when he came here with...well...he wouldn't let himself think her name. Not now.

He approached a small blue-skinned alien man who was struggling to haul some crates from a craft. He recognized quickly that the man was from the planet Blatta Matra 11. He gave the man a nod, blinking slowly and wiggling two of his fingers near his nose, a common greeting for Blatta Matrans. The small man recognized it and smiled, an instant spark of respect registered in his face. He could tell that The Doctor was familiar with his people and obviously appreciated it.

"I can help you with those" The Doctor said, not even waiting for a response before he picked up one of the heavy crates. The small man said nothing but seemed appreciative. The doctor followed him into a small warehouse, stacked with similar boxes. The small man set his box down and motioned for the doctor to set his on top. "Time for a break I think!" the doctor smiled. He hoped to get some information from the man, though he knew it would be a challenge. Blatta Martrans were notoriously short spoken. The man only proved this by nodding, not saying a word but taking a small stick from his pocket. He pulled a string on the end and a delicate stream of sparkles fell from it. He stuck it in his mouth.

The Doctor smiled at the sight of it "Ooh, I remember when those were the big thing! What were, I mean, ARE they called again?" The small blue skinned man made no sound. The Doctor could tell this was not going to prompt any conversation. Defeated, he said "SparkSticks, right. Well, nice to talk to you! Got to run!" He turned but stopped dead in his tracks. She had just passed by outside...a blond woman...a familiar looking one. He raced out, both of his hearts were beating hard in his chest. He felt like he couldn't breath, time seemed to slow as he turned the corner to see her. He cried out, feebly, "Ro---" but she had turned now. And she was looking at him with a confused expression. It wasn't her. Not at all. Though the resemblance certainly there he could see now. Her nose was much smaller, her eyes a different color, her lips thin.

"I'm sorry," he said, "I, I thought you were...someone else..."

The girl smiled at him "Oh, I get that a lot!" She laughed in a way that heart his ears. Her voice was quite shrill. She suddenly seemed so ugly to him. How could he have ever mistaken her for---

Her shrill voice murdered his thoughts "I'm Clarma! What's your name?"

"Oh, I'm no one. Well, not no one but it doesn't matter, it's...I'm The Doctor."

"A doctor?" Clarma's eyes brightened. "Why, I know someone who is lookin' for a doctor! You know, they was talking about openin' up a hospital in town! I bet you could get yourself a job, Doctor...what is your name?"

"The Doctor."

"Doctor who?"

He had been through this enough times in the past. He looked at her very seriously. "Just call me The Doctor."

Clarma giggled, stupidly. "What a big head you have, aye? Well, why don't you buy me a drink! and maybe I could introduce you to some friends of mine!"

The Doctor paused, thinking. He felt such animosity toward the woman. Was it simply because she reminded him of...Did he resent her for making him hope the impossible? But he needed a distraction. It would be good to get involved in something, anything. He could sense that this could lead to lots of distraction, and he needed it.

He followed Clarma through the town and into a dark, smoky bar. Considering that it was the middle of the day, there were a shockingly large number of people there. Clarma touched his arm and followed the lines of it with her fingers until their hands met. She twined her fingers with his and led him towards the counter.

"Aye, this here's The Doctor," she said to a woman sitting at the bar, apparently a friend of her's.

"Hot damn, Clarma, you found yourself an outta towner! Where you from, Mister?" The friend turned to The Doctor, and he noticed that her voice was just as shrill and unfortunate as Clarma's.

"Er.. not around her, that's for sure," he murmured, then said more clearly, "Ma'am, may I inquire as to your name?" He had tried to speak like the locals, but quickly realized he had overdone it. His ears scanned the bar, and they didn't catch many courteous words.

"Ha! Yer cute!" squealed the friend. "My name's Melwinda. And what's yer name mister Doctor?"The Doctor groaned, but Clarma took over.

"He says that _is_ his name, Melwinda! Ain't he a character?"Then both ladies began laughing for much too long. The sound was like daggers to The Doctor's ears, stabbing his brain and allowing his sanity to bleed out slowly. He began to unconsciously back away, but Clarma clenched onto his wrist with her surprisingly strong hand.

"Where you going, Sugar?" She turned to him, looking as seductive as she could, but she only seemed to grow uglier and uglier to him. Yet he couldn't back away. It was as though whatever sense inside him that had driven him to run away had been paralyzed. She gazed into his eyes, and he felt the strange sensation of growing smaller and smaller and falling into them. He moved his hand to her shoulder and fiddled with the fabric of her sleeve.

She smiled vixenishly and led him towards a small, even darker, back room of the bar. Although every cell in his body cried out against it, he couldn't help but follow. They passed through a strange curtain, made of something bead-like, and into the small room, which was filled almost completely by a large, fat sofa. She sat down on it, and he followed.

Then she kissed him, and whatever last shred of his free will was hanging on, broke. A violent fever broke over him, and all he wanted was her, that hideous, irritating woman. He ransacked her clothing and tore into her like a Christmas present, thrusting himself upon her with an insatiable desire. She moaned and urged him on.

Suddenly, just as his passion was heating, someone burst through the door, throwing light across the room. The Doctor felt a blow to the back of his head and a needle in his arm, and he felt his senses return to him. He looked up for just a moment before passing out, and he saw what appeared to be a humanoid cat wearing a habit.


	2. Chapter 2

Aching and groggy, The Doctor came to his senses. For a moment he hesitated to open his eyes, for fear of what he may see. His memory of the previous events hit him quickly, and he felt sick that he had done that, that he had nearly done that, regardless of whether or not he had been under control of some mysterious force. He tried to push aside his shame and decided that whatever faced him out there would be better faced with his eyes open.

His eyes felt sticky, but he could see clearly when he opened them. He was not, as he had feared, still in the bar. Rather he was in what appeared to be a church of sorts, and over him stood a cat nun, smiling down at him.

"You had a close call there," she said soothingly. "Luckily we keep some of our sisters on patrol. Sister Purvience found you before it was too late..." she trailed off for a moment, and The Doctor looked quizzically at her.

"What do you mean... too late?"

"Ahh, you don't know..." she paused momentarily, but quickly continued. "I'm sure you noticed how you lost control of yourself back there. Well, those women, those _things,_ they're not from this planet, this New Earth. They began showing up a few months ago, and since then they have been using their mysterious powers to harvest the people of this planet."

Upon hearing this, The Doctor was back to his take-charge self. "What do you mean, harvest? That's a rather interesting word to use, isn't it?" He sprang up from the bed the nuns had put him in, ignoring the ache in his head.

The cat nun paced toward the small window, looking meloncholy. "They are literally eating their victims, sir," she sighed, "They draw people to them using some mysterious power, then... Well, we sisters don't typically speak of such thing, but... when they draw their victims into the throws of passion, they... they... use their_ teeth."_ She sighed and turned away, embarrassed.

The Doctor spent only a moment working that one out, then he immideately began searching the halls of his mind for clues about what these creatures could be.

"Don't worry, Sister," The Doctor said confidently, "I'll find a way to save your planet!"

The cat nun smiled at him. "I hope you can. And may the Cat God watch over you and save your soul!"

The Doctor sat in a pew, thinking. After a moment he said "What is your name, sister?"

"I am Sister Meowline. I will do all I can to help you rid our world of those Sireens!"

"Sireens?"

"Yes...that much I can say. They are from a place called Sireen. I don't know where it is but that is what they call themselves, 'Sireens.' There are so many of them plaguing the city now!"

"Sireens..." The Doctor was turning the it over in his mind. He couldn't think of where he might have heard of such creatures before. He couldn't seem to think of a way to defeat them. He looked at Meowline "Can you tell me anything more about them? No matter how basic the information, it might be helpful!"

The nun thought a moment and then sat next to him. "Ok, well...they all seem to be female and their effects only work on males, it seems. The other sisters and I don't like being around them but we don't come under their spell. I mean, we have had them lash out at us but they don't have the same powers on us. Maybe it is because we are protected by a higher power."

"I'll bet it's some kind of pheromone." The Doctor wondered allowed. "If I could get a sample of it..."

"Well, we have been trying to study them ourselves. Sister Meowlotta has a small laboratory here and she has tried to study it." She lowered her voice a little "some of us have talked about trying to catch one of them...maybe even dissect it!" The glee in her voice at the description of violence was disarming coming from a nun!

"Sister Meowline, who is this visitor?" A second cat nun was quickly walking towards them. The Doctor quickly recognized that she must be in a higher position in the convent. Her robes were slightly different. She was shorter and a bit plumper than Meowline.

"This is The Doctor!" Sister Meowline said, rising to her feet and bowing slightly to her superior.

"How did you know my name?" The Doctor asked.

"Oh, I heard that Sireen in the bar say it. I was following you two for a little while. I wanted to wait until you were alone to act. The place was packed with Sireens, you know! That is a common hangout for them. Very dangerous! But when I saw you walking down the street with her..." Meowline blushed a little. The doctor could tell even though the evidence was hidden beneath fur "well, I knew you were someone who wasn't from around here and someone who might be...interesting." She smiled.

The other nun cleared her throat.

"Oh dear!" Meowline snapped out of whatever thought had been consuming her "I'm so sorry! This is Sister Meowrita." She nodded to the other nun "I'm sorry, sister!"

"Yes." Meowrita said. "You should be. You seem to be baring your soul to this stranger. Are you quite sure that is a good idea? Perhaps he is not someone we can trust."

"Oh, you can trust me! I'm the Doctor!"

"Really, that's just what I would expect someone I couldn't trust to say!" Meowrita scowled.

"So if I said you couldn't trust me would that make you trust me?"

"Certainly not!"

"I see. There is nothing I can say to make you trust me. But perhaps there is something I can do to win you over, Sister!" The doctor nodded to something behind her. "You see there? It's a very advanced technology but I noticed it quickly!" He walked to the altar where a large cross was hanging.

The nuns followed him, both looking quite confused. Meowrita seemed very angry as he moved his arm up the side of the large cross. "Don't touch that!" she yelled "It is the sacred cross of the Cat God!"

The doctor drew his hand away from it quickly "Yes, yes. But I thought you might want to know that someone has been spying on you!" He held out his hand to the nuns to show them a small piece of metal.

"What is it?" Meowline asked.

"He defaced our sacred cross!" Meowrita spat.

"It's a listening device. A very nice one indeed! To the untrained eye it is nearly invisible!" He had taken out his sonic screwdriver and was moving it across the metal object. "It's transmitting to a place nearby. I can probably locate it. But they probably heard us and know we are coming already. We'll have to hurry!" He had already begun running in the direction of the transmission location and the nuns were following.

"It must be the Sireens! They must have been listening to us!" Meowline gasped as they went.

Meowrita still looked angry and untrusting of The Doctor but she ran along with him.

"I suppose I should have disabled it before saying anything" The Doctor noted. "But I did recently fall under the influence of some strange pheromones. I guess I wasn't thinking quite right yet." They had left the church and quickly made their way down a beat up street, into an alley a few blocks away, and soon enough the doctor halted and put a finger to his lips. Though they probably didn't have the element of surprise there was still no sense in just barging in. Anything could be waiting for them. The doctor motioned to the nuns and whisper "the trail ends here. it should be just through this door. Stay behind me." He moved the sonic screwdriver over the lock and in a quick movement threw the door open.

As he had expected there was no one on the other side. The occupants had fled in a hurry. But he was certain that in their haste they had surely left many clues behind.


	3. Chapter 3

They carefully walked into the room, which had been left dark and cluttered. Clearly the previous occupants have frantically tried to rid the room of any clues. The Doctor scanned the walls and ceiling for some kind of a light, but what he found would not turn on.

"Has anyone got a torch?" he looked at the cat nuns, but they had nothing. He tinkered with the light using his sonic screwdriver, and eventually it lit. "Ah ha! Don't you trust me now?" He smiled at Meowrita, but she looked back at him with disgust.

Together, the three of them began searching the room for clues, anything that might tell them more about who or what they were facing. However, they quickly found that this was a difficult endeavor.

"Look at this," called Meowline, showing the doctor a document written in some mysterious language. "What could this be? Might it be important?"

The Doctor took the paper from her and examined it. He recognized the language, but he couldn't quite place where from. He could certainly read it, though. "It's a bunch of orders, it seems... from their home base. This looks like some of their plans for the 'harvest'... It dosen't mention their home planet... hmmmm... Anyway, we only have a couple of pages here from the document. It looks like there used to be a lot more. See if you can't find anything else, eh?"

They all began searching the room again. The Doctor noticed a strange odor, but he couldn't quite place what it was. It made him feel slightly dizzy. He saw what looked like a radio receiver, and he bent to pick it up, then next to it he saw something else. It was a photograph. It was a photo of someone he knew... he fumbled to pick it up, but his arms felt heavy, his whole body felt heavy. Then he blacked out.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  
"Doctor! Doctor!" The Doctor awoke outside the building with Meowline slapping his face.

"Wh-what happened?" he stammered. He tried to lift himself from the ground, but he felt very weak. He was embarrassed and felt like this whole situation was getting swiftly away from his control.

"There was something strange in the air inside that room, Doctor!" Meowline was frantic. "It didn't effect Meowrita or me, but you suddenly just fell over, so we dragged you out here... It looks like you've improved."

"I've got to go back in there," said the Doctor decidedly. "There was clearly more evidence than we found. We've got to find out all we can about these creatures... where they're from and how they are seducing people..." He didn't mention the photograph.

Meowrita stepped in, "I'm sorry, Doctor, but we simply can't risk it. Whatever made you black out in there could be much more dangerous to you in the future."

The Doctor was furious. He not only had to search the room for more evidence, but he had to get that photograph and figure out why in the universe those creatures had that photo.

"Look, sisters, I understand your concern, but I feel like we are right on the edge of figuring this thing out. We got part of that document, but I just don't think that will be enough. For some reason, I know I have heard about this species before, but I just can't quite place where from. It's like there's a wall in my mind, a fog blocking that memory... We've got to go back in there." But the Doctor didn't feel so sure. He knew that if he could just remember where he knew this species from, this whole task would get a lot easier, but for some reason he couldn't recall. This whole thing was filled with the what reeked of mind control, and that disturbed him. He didn't want anyone tinkering about inside his head.

The sisters looked at each other, wondering what they should do.

"Wait, I have something back at the Tardis that might do the trick!" The Doctor suddenly realized and he began to dash off in the direction of the familiar police box. The sisters were puzzled but they had followed him so much already it seemed like they shouldn't stop doing so now.

They arrived presently at the Tardis and the doctor opened the door and dashed inside. Meowline moved to follow him but Meowrita grabbed her robes. "It might be a trap!" she said.

"Oh, come on now! Surely The Doctor has proven himself to you by now!" Meowline protested, but before Meowrita could respond The Doctor had come out of the Tardis holding something and looking quite proud of himself.

"See, it's a mask." He said, holding the strange contraption up for the nuns to see. "I got it ages ago! I'm just glad I was able to find it so quickly! I..." He paused. He was hit with the impact of a memory. Of course he had found it quickly. It wasn't that long ago that...that she had been looking through the closet and pulled it out, laughing and asking him what it was for. She had thought it looked quite silly indeed. The Doctor stood with his mouth agape and his eyes quickly wettening.

"Are you alright, Doctor?" Meowline rushed up to him, very concerned. "Are you going to black out again? Oh dear!"

It took a moment but the Doctor had managed to suppress the emotions. He took a sharp breath in through his nose and his face quickly hardened again. "No, I mean, you see, this mask here! It should help me to avoid breathing in whatever mind control pheromones are in that room! It might not last long before they start to seep into me in some other way but it should buy us some precious minutes to continue our search!"

The sisters looked at him, a bit confused.

"Well, come on, then!" the doctor said and began rushing back to the room. He only hoped the mask would buy him enough time to  
recover the precious photo.

They arrived back at the door in no time and the doctor fitted the strange mask to his face. He could see Meowline smile without being able to help herself. It was a silly looking thing. But it should do the trick, he hoped.

"Alright" his voice was deadened by the mask "Let's go back in!" He gave the door a shove and hurried inside, the nuns following. He ran to the spot where he remembered seeing the photograph and flung himself on the ground, desperately searching for it!

"A ha!" He grasped it in his hand and brought it close to the foggy lenses of the mask. The photo was not in good shape but despite the aged paper, bent and yellowed, he had recognized correctly the image. It was him. Well, not exactly him. A very old picture of him from many regenerations ago! He had to smile at how he looked then! The frizzy hair and the strangely long scarf and the silly smile! And beside him was the funny mechanical dog who had been his companion! K-9! The photo brought back such amazing memories of adventures past! The doctor sighed with nostalgia but his mind was also busy wondering how this photo had gotten here and how it had gotten into the possession of whoever had been in this room. Perhaps he had encountered them before, back in the days when the picture was taken? He just couldn't quite remember it.

Meowline's voice broke through his reverie. "Doctor? Are you alright, Doctor? We've sound some other clues!"

He quickly stuffed the photo into his jacket and got to his feet. He noticed that it took some effort to do so and knew that the environment was weakening him, even with the mask to slow the effects slightly. "We'd best gather it up and leave quickly!" He suggested. Meowline nodded.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Safely outside they gathered. The sisters had found a few things, mostly useless, but of particular interest to the doctor was a small cylinder. It seemed to be some kind of tube that was sealed tightly. It was fairly heavy and metal and glinted in the sun. The Doctor could sense that there must be something important inside of it. A feeble attempt was made by Meowline to open it but the Doctor denied Meowrita's request to try to bust it open herself. "We don't know what is inside it yet" The Doctor noted. "It would be best to play it safe for now. I will have to give it further inspection back at the Tardis!"

"We should get back to the convent..." Meowrita said. "The others will worry."

"But we must help the Doctor!" Meowline protested.

The Doctor felt that he would much prefer to be alone with the photo. "Oh, you should go back."

"But---!"

"Don't worry, Sister! I will come by later after I have figured out what is in this tube! I will certainly need your help to get rid of those Sireens and solve this mystery!" The Doctor offered her his best reassuring smile.

"Alright" Meowline conceded. "I want to help in any way I can!"

"Come along, Sister." Meowrita had taken Meowline's hand and begun to lead her away. The Doctor smiled and nodded as they departed and then quickly rushed back to the Tardis where he could be alone.


	4. Chapter 4

He stepped inside the control room and carefully closed the door behind him. His heart was racing with the expanding mystery. How did he know these creatures, yet not know them? How did they have this photograph of him? He examined the photograph again and pondered. There was one idea that kept creeping up, but... no, he couldn't do that... surely it would cause ruin to the very fabric of time and space!

He entertained the thought, though. Hadn't he run into himself before? Sure, it hadn't happened often, and it had rarely been purposeful, but... he had even worked with himself to solve things before, for heaven's sake! Surely what he was considering would be no crime against the laws of the universe. He looked at the photo once more, safely tucked it into his coat pocket, and proceeded to the controls.

His hands were shaking with anticipation and excitement as he turned the knobs, pushed buttons, pulled levers, and hit pieces of the TARDIS with a hammer. How long had it been since he had seen K9? Would Romana be there? Or would it be Leela or Tegan? Or would he find himself alone? He couldn't remember, so he was left to be filled with anxiety and anticipation, wondering what he might find.

He closed his eyes, took a breath, and let himself and the TARDIS spiral through space.

***********************

With a thud, the TARDIS reached its destination, a destination the Doctor was not quite sure of. He had shot for a general time, a time when he thought he might be with K9, but he couldn't be sure where he had come to. His memory of the chronology of his life never seemed to be accurate, and that was all so very long ago, it seemed.

He paused a moment and debated. Did he want to present himself as the Doctor or not? Did he want himself to recognize himself or not? He paced the room from the control panel to the door and back again a number of times, wondering. Finally, he decided that if he, his past self, recognized that he, his current self, was in fact the Doctor, then he would be able to trust himself more freely and more openly give information of anything he might know about these Sireens...

How could he recognize himself, though? He thought for just a moment, then rushed to his wardrobe. He hastily dug through coats and hats and all manner of attire until he found it: his favorite old scarf. He had worn this all the time back then, he remembered. It wasn't perfect, but it would be some hint that he really was who he said. He wrapped it around himself and looked in the mirror.

He grinned at his reflection in the mirror and laughed to himself bemusedly. "Ha, I can't believe I used to wear this old thing! Look at how it's hanging down to the floor! How was I even to walk?" He wrapped it a bit more so it was away from his feet, looked at himself one more time, and skipped excitedly to the door of the TARDIS.

With his hand on the door, he took one last deep breath and prepared himself for whatever may be on the other side.

****************************

A long lonely beach stretched out. The Doctor stepped into the sand, the wind in his hair and the sound of the ever moving waves in his ears. He took a breath. The place certainly felt nostalgic, but he saw nothing but empty beach chairs and sand. Perhaps he had miscalculated. At any rate he would take a walk and check the place out. It did, after all, _feel _familiar. He wrapped the scarf a little tighter to keep it from dragging in the sand and walked beside the ocean, taking in the cold air with a contented sigh.

As he walked on he began to make something out in the distance. Something blue and familar. "Ah! I see it! The good old TARDIS!" he grinned and walked just a bit faster toward it. He began to see the outline of figures in the distance as well. A young lady was walking along the beach with a small creature by her side. "That must be K-9! And, oh, who would the girl be?" He had to get a little closer before he was certain "Oh...Romana! after her regeneration, it seems. I forgot how pretty she looked." As he thought of her he found himself thinking of someone else too. Someone he had been trying so hard to forget but never could. Someone who was constantly on the periphery of his thoughts, floating in and out. He shook his head, trying to shake away that pain. He took a breath and continued on.

Now Romana seemed to be yelling something at a chair, holding K-9 in her arms. As he grew closer he could see something slumped there. And Romana had turned to face him now, looking concerned and yelling at the chair frantically. He saw a lump of clothing move, a long scarf and a hat. The hat lowered and there was a face. The Doctor knew it was his own face, from long ago. The man in the chair stood and nodded toward him.

As the Doctor approached them Romana got in front of him first. "Who are you and what do you want?"

"Oh," Said the Doctor. "I'm only here to speak to an old friend."

"Is that so?" Romana looked skeptical but the man with the hat gently nudged his way passed her.

"Do I know you?" said the man. "Yes...I think I do. Or will anyway, won't I?"

The Doctor smiled. He looked at the man's face, much older looking than his own. Even though he had technically been younger then, he looked older in appearance. His eyes were crinkled with lines. His larger curly hair and ridiculous grin made the Doctor smile.

"I don't know what you are talking about, Doctor!" Romana broke into the conversation. "Who is this chap? How is it you will know him?"

"Don't you see, silly girl? Come on now, use your brain!" The 4th Doctor said.

Romana inspected the 10th Doctor for a moment before smiling "Oh, I see!" She laughed "Well, you certainly improved your looks over time didn't you?" She gave a little wink in the newcomer's direction. "I guess you kept that silly scarf, though!" She reached out and touched it, tossing one of the ends in her hand for a moment.

"Well, normally I don't wear it but it seemed like it would be a good occasion for it today."

"Wanted to make sure you'd be recognized, I suppose" said the 4th Doctor. "I think I would have recognized myself anyway. even though I have changed quite a bit. I must ask, though, to what I owe this meeting?"

"Well" the 10th Doctor said "It seems I need your help. Well, MY help, I suppose. I have a bit of a sticky situation on my hands." He pulled out the photograph and handed it to his former self. "I found this at the scene of a crime, as it were, and figured I would just ask myself about it."

Romana gasped "It's you and K-9! And that reminds me that he is quite out of sorts! you must fix him right away! The silly thing walked right out into the water you see" She nodded to Doctor 10, explaining.

"Oh, I would love to see that old K-9 again! Let me take a look!" The Doctor arched forward to inspect the robotic dog while his former incarnation looked at the photo, confused.

"So" said the 4th Doctor as the 10th fiddled with his sonic screwdriver over K-9's circuitry. "Where did you find this photo?"

"Oh, it was on New Earth, quite a ways into the future from here. See, I'm trying to stop these creatures called Sireens from destroying the world and all that. Want to go for a ride, perhaps? I mean, if you aren't too busy, Doctor." He had finished repairing K-9 and closed him up, giving the dog a little pat on its side.

K-9's eyes lit up "Thank you for repairing my circuitry....Doctor."

"He still knows his master!" Doctor 10 grinned.

"Affirmative"

"Well, K-9 must come along too. And Romana can come of course." Doctor 10 said. "So, how about it?"

Doctor 4 scratched his chin a moment, looking down at his future self. He smiled and said "Your TARDIS, or mine?"

"Oh, mine, please!" called the 10th Doctor as he raced off toward his TARDIS, leading the way for the group.

When they all had caught him up, they filed into the large room. The 4th Doctor and Romana looked around in shock at the new form of the room.

"What has he done to the place..." mused Romana. "Or, rather, what will you do to the place? Poor TARDIS... Well, I'm just glad we've run into your future regeneration and not mine--what a chore!" Romana laughed and lightly touched the new Doctor on the arm, then she went over to the controls.

"Yes, I know she does look a bit different," explained the 10th Doctor to his 4th self, "but I assure you, she's the same old TARDIS. Nothing's changed but the wall paper, so to speak." He led his former self over to the controls.

"So, how long between you and me, eh, Doctor" the 4th Doctor began, "Oh, I know, nevermind. I shouldn't ask such questions. So hard not to be a bit curious, though... What's happened since me... it's hard not to wonder what's in store--your past is my future!"

The Doctor nodded, thinking about all the things that had happened. It had been so many years ago that he was this man...

The other Doctor continued: "And where are your companions right now? If I know myself, which I hope I do, I know I don't like to travel alone."

"Oh, ehm... Well, I suppose I am a bit alone at the moment..." He was tinkering with the knobs, looking down at them over-intently. "Oh," he changed the subject, "were you just going to let K9 rot there with his fried circutry? How cruel! If you don't want this little fellow, I'll take him off your hands..." The 10th doctor reached down and patted K9 on the head.

"Ah ha! So there's no K9 in my future! That's a relief... no no, I'd better hang on to him. He comes in handy sometimes when he's not being a pain."

The 10th Doctor laughed at the memory of how he had used to treat K9... "Well, before I accidently reveal anything else, we had better be on our way!" He pushed a few more buttons and pulled some more levers, and the TARDIS took off.

************************

They landed harshly, shaking the whole TARDIS.

"Doctor!" shouted Romana. "After all this time, you still couldn't manage to learn to drive?"

"Well, you two could have helped me rather than just sitting there!"

"Ha," laughed his fourth self. "I wanted to take an opportunity to just sit back and enjoy he ride. Not often I get to do that, you know."

"Well, K9, are you ready to go?" The 10th doctor called to his loyal, metal dog.

"Affirmative."

The Doctor clapped his hands and led the group to the door. "Alright, everyone! By way of warning... these things are brutal. Doctor, they will try to ensnare you with some strange mind-control techniques, so beware! Also, see if you don't recognize them..." he though for a moment, "Anything else? Oh, yes, Doctor, have you an jelly babies?"

The fourth Doctor reached into his coat and pulled out a small paper bag. "Of course. Would anyone care for a jelly baby?" The 10th Doctor took a few and ate them reminiscently.

"Alright," he said, "lets go!"


	5. Chapter 5

Somewhere near a dark figure sat in an underground cavern. She wore a long robe that covered most of her body and face but a pair of sinister eyes glimmered as they caught the dim light.

"Clarma" she said "What is the news? He has arrived?"

"Yes, mistress"

"And in what form has he come?"

On a shady wall 10 photos hung. Clarma pointed a timid finger at the 10th one. "This one" she said.

This caused the robed woman to laugh, malevolently. "Excellent" her silky wicked voice sounded from beneath the robe. "Of course it would be him. And that's just the way I hoped it would happen."

"I'm sorry we failed you earlier, Mistress. It was those stupid nuns! We…we will not fail you again."

"Just remember! This one you MUST bring to me alive and fully intact, understand?"

"Yes Mistress!"

They were interrupted by the sharp sound of heels hurrying up the corridor. "Mistress" a frightened voice echoed. "I am sorry to disturb you but…there is a development!"

"Darina, what development do you speak of?" The robed woman asked as the frightened Sireen bowed at her feet.

"There is another one, Mistress!"

"Another one? What do you mean?"

Darina cautiously rose and pointed, her arm shaking at the 10th picture first as she said "this one…" and moved her finger to the 4th "And this one."

"Two!? But how?" the voice of the robed woman boomed.

"Mistress, I do not know how but they were both seen with the blue box you spoke of! I swear it is true! Please do not punish me, Mistress!" Darina was bowing again now, terrified.

The robed figure had risen to her feet and come closer to the pictures, staring at them in disbelief for a moment before she turned to her servant. "I will not punish you yet…but do not fail me! Bring me…both….of these men. Both intact and alive. Or I will punish you!" Her voice grew even louder, echoing in a thunderous boom down the corridors "I will punish you all!" She stared again at the two Sireens before her. "Now go! Leave my sight!"

Clarma and Darina jumped to their feet and fled from the presence of their mistress. They knew their very lives depended on completing this mission!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

"Before we do anything else" The 10th Doctor was saying "We have to go to the convent. We need all the allies we can get! I don't know what we are facing but it must be something huge to involve us both like it has!"

"A convent? You mean, you are recruiting nuns to our cause?" Romana looked incredulously at him.

"Yes, nuns. But, well, if I might say so they have claws!" The 10th Doctor said, smiling as he lead them into a building.

Meowline rushed the meet them. Evidently she had been waiting anxiously for the Doctor's return. "Oh! I knew you would return, Doctor! Oh, but who is this?" She looked at the Doctor's new companions, particularly eyeing Romana in a jealous way.

"These are, uh, old friends of mine" He explained.

"Very old friends." Romana laughed.

"Would you care for a Jelly Baby?" The 4th Doctor said, smiling at the nun.

"A What?"

"So" the 10th Doctor interrupted "You said that one of the sisters had been experimenting about these Sireens?"

"Oh yes, Sister Meowlotta! I can take you there! Oh, but did you test that tube we found? What is it?"

"Tube…? Oh, yes, well, uh, the tests were inconclusive so far. I need to do some more tests on it, you see…" The doctor removed it from is pocket, looking at it for the first time since he had put it there after they had found it. The truth was he had been so eager to get to work on finding his past self that he had forgotten it completely. He felt rather embarrassed by this for some reason.

Romana's laugh rang out, catch him off guard. "Surely now, Doctor! Don't be silly!" she snatch the tube from his hand. "Don't you realize what it is?" she looked at him with an impudent glare. The Doctor could only look confused. She turned her look on Meowline and laughed "Oh, I suppose none of you would have any need to know it, would you?" Looking very self-righteous indeed she gave it a little twist and it opened, revealing a reddish oblong.

The Doctor eyed it closely for a moment before he realized "…lipstick!?" he said, an embarrassed grin stretching across his face. "Oh…yes…well…I see." But something about it suddenly really caught him off guard. The shade of it seemed so familiar to him! Like it was on the lips of someone he once knew…but he couldn't see a face, just a pair of lips, soft and sweet…or maybe not so sweet. He just stood and stared, trying to summon something more but nothing would appear.

Romana was still laughing when he had gathered himself. He tried to distract himself from the embarrassment and confusion, looking around innocently. He realized his former self was absent and reeled about until he saw him inspecting something on a wall.

He looked back to Romana, her face was giddy. Meowline was just standing there, confused but also a certain contempt in her eyes that seemed aimed at Romana.

"Uh, well" the Doctor tried to change the subject, snatching the tube back from Romana.

"Oh, Doctor. It's alright." She said, stepping close to him and touching his hair in a fond way "I don't suppose a distinguished Time Lord like you would know anything about lady's cosmetics!"

At that moment Meowline interrupted "Uh, Doctor, I need to speak with you for a moment. Alone." She glared at Romana as she said it.

Romana gave her a haughty glance but made no attempt to stop her from pulling the doctor away. Meowline lead him down a corridor and when she was sure they were out of sight she gave him a concerned look. "I don't trust them" She said. "Those so called friends of yours. How well do you know them? How can you be sure you can trust them!?"

"Oh, I wouldn't worry, Sister. I know them very well indeed. I trust them completely! Why, I trust him like I trust myself!" He grinned as his own private joke but Meowline did not smile.

"Doctor, she doesn't care about you! But I do! You can't trust her but you must know, you can trust me. Oh, Doctor! I was so afraid you might not return! I was afraid that perhaps they had gotten you! I was worried, Doctor! So worried!"

"Yes, well, no need to worry! You see, I came back! I can defend myself just fine, you know. You should trust me on that!"

"Oh, I do trust you, I do!" she was staring at him with an intense expression that frightened him a little.

He tried to back away from her slightly but she suddenly had thrown her arms around him and pressed him to the wall. For a moment he feared she was attacking but then he realized he had misread the situation dreadfully. She was kissing his cheeks, nuzzling against him. "Oooh!" she cried softly in his ear. She was touching his face, his hair, his back…She was…trying to remove his jacket?!

The Doctor tried to push her away but she was stronger than she looked. "Oh, doctor!" she purred, giving his ear a light nip "I want you so! Ooooh you make my whiskers stand on end, Doctor!"

"I…I…uh, aren't you a nun?!" the Doctor protested.

"Oh, I don't care about that! Besides, no one has to know!" She dug her claws into his back, pulling their bodies closer and closer.

The Doctor winced "No, really, sister, uh, errr, I think you have the wrong idea about me! Really! The Really wrong idea! Uh!" He wanted to give her a good shove off of him but he was worried that her claws would completely tear his coat. He loved that coat!

"Doctor, I want to be wrong! Sooo wrong! Oooh, let's be wrong together, right now!" Her whiskers brushed his face as she moved to kiss his lips…

The moment was broken by a scream. Two screams, in fact. One from one side of the hall and one from the other. The doctor looked to one side to see Meowrita, horror in her face, her fur standing on end.

"You…you…you!" Meowrita was absolutely flustered!

Meowline gasped and moved away from the doctor, but apparently forgot to retract her class first. There was a loud rip as they tore jagged strips into the Doctor's coat and the skin of his back. He cried out in pain but she didn't seem to notice him anymore. She was yelling at Meowrita now with such passion that the Doctor was able to leg it down the corridor practically unnoticed. He ran into Romana coming down the hall towards him.

"Doctor!" she cried, looking very worried indeed. "The Doctor's gone! I mean, the other Doctor, you know. An opening appeared in the wall and someone grabbed him and before I could get there to help he had been pulled inside and the opening closed up! I can't get it open!"

The Doctor followed her to the spot. He quickly brandished his sonic screwdriver and tried to use it on the spot. "It's no us!" He said, breathlessly. "I can't seem to get it to open…"

Romana suddenly looked at him with a new expression of shock. "Doctor!? What happened to your jacket? Oh, and your back! Oh my!"

"I'll tell you all about it later. Right now we have to rescue…ME!"


	6. Chapter 6

Deep inside a mysterious pit of darkness lay the Doctor. He groaned and moved his hand to his head. He felt something wet there amidst his messy curls of hair. Blood.

"Owww... " he groaned. "K9, Romana!" he called after them, but he was disoriented and forgot where he was, and that they were not around.

Then he heard footsteps. They were echoing in the long corridor where he lay. Stumbling to his feet, he called after the noise "Who's that?! Where i this place?" Then a cloaked figure stepped out of the shadows. He couldn't see her face, but he did notice the maniacal gleam of her eyes.

"Hello, Doctor!" the cloaked figure stepped closer, addressing him. "It was much easier to catch you than I had anticipated! Ha! I knew you were weak, always putting up a front of confidence!" She spat the words, throwing them at him like cruel daggers.

He patted his jacket and smoothed his scarf, taking in the situation and determining the correct response. "Forgive me, err... Miss, but I don't recall our previous interaction. What have I done to you, and what is it you have brought me here for?" He slowly backed away from her, invisibly searching for a way out.

"Ha! Do you hear that girls!" The cloaked figure called into the shadows and small voices began to respond to her... "Oh shut up!" she yelled back at them. "Listen, Doctor! Of course you wouldn't remember me, but oh, I remember you! Now, tell me where the others are!"

"Why would I want to do that? I don't see much of a bargain there..." The Doctor was fingering something on his scarf, and he had seamlessly removed something from his pocket.

"Doctor, your time is running out!" coaxed the sinister voice.

"Yes, yes, but, you see, I don't think I shall be telling you anything." He spoke quite cordially to her, then reached into his pocket once again.

She saw him, "Don't try anything, Doctor! There are more of us in these shadows than you think, and we can shred you apart."

"Oh, no, I wouldn't dream of trying anything! I just though, well... would you like a jelly baby? Or, perhaps some for your minions?" He held a small paper bag out for her,

She scoffed.

"Well, your loss, then!" He smiled grandly and dropped the bag on the floor.

***********************

The Doctor and Romana rushed through the streets of the city, looking for a way to where the other Doctor had gone.

"So, what happened back there?" Romana panted.

"Err..." The Doctor slowed down a bit and smiled. "Apparently I am quite a hit with the ladies. That nun back there kissed me!"

Romana laughed and looked at him teasingly. "Well, she wouldn't have done if she really knew you! Are you sure you don't have some similar mind control powers as these Sliveens? It's hard to imagine a woman being drawn to you like that..."

"Hey! I will have you know that women find me very attractive!"

"Where are they? I'd like to meet them." Romana laughed, but then she quickly turned serious once more. "Look, Doctor, I don't know if we are going to make any progress this way. I think we had better go back and get K9. He may be able to help us."

"That's true... and I wouldn't mind having some real company along!"

Romana glared at him, and they quickly turned back to the TARDIS for K9.

**************************

"I said I wouldn't tell you anything" the doctor reminded the cloaked woman. She wandered around the large dim corridor. The doctor had been apprehended and tied up very generously with ropes to a chair. Sireens guarded him, standing at each side. They sometimes mumbled and licked their lips. The seemed hungry but the doctor paid them no mind.

"I don't expect you to talk" said the cloaked figure "I expect you to wait. We will all wait until you-the other you-comes to us! I need you both. Really, I don't know how two of you got involved in this! I only wanted one. But double the Doctors means double the revenge for me!" She grinned in a sinister way.

The Doctor stared at her, still quite unable to make out her face beneath the robe. "I have no idea who you are, madam! I certainly don't recall how I wronged you. I don't see the need for all the drama and cloaked mysteriousness…" he shifted uncomfortably "and the ropes! You used quite enough of them, didn't you?"

"You might not remember me but I know he will. And once I have shown him my face he will soon after know the pain he has caused me!" She held out her hand, it appeared somewhat old and withered. Her sharp nails caught the dim light as she made a fist, shaking it dramatically as she spoke. "You will both know my pain! I will destroy you as many times as I can for what you have done!"

"Really, perhaps it is time to forgive and forget!" the Doctor smiled at her awkwardly. "We could sit down, have some tea…and some jelly babies. And just let bygones be bygones. Whatever it was I was supposed to have done it is in the past now." He thought a moment "Err, well, perhaps it is the in future for me but in the past for you. And really, that's all that---"

"Oooh, you are absolutely insufferable!" she roared. "Yes, I will enjoy destroying you soon enough!"

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

The Doctor, Romana, and K-9 stood at the place where the other Doctor had vanished. "What do you think, K-9? Try your laser on it, perhaps?"

"Affirmative, Master. I will attempt it but success is not probable." A red light began to glow on the robotic dog's nose and a laser shot out, blasting the wall but making no dent in it.

"I wonder what this wall is made of" Romana remarked.

The Doctor, frustrated, gave the wall a slap.

The bricks began to move almost instantly, causing he and Romana to jump back in shock.

"That was…easy?" Romana blinked, amused.

"Well, let's go!" The Doctor said.

"Master" K-9's robotic voice chimed in "I calculate 99.999% chance that this is a trap."

"Oh, I'm certain it is. But we're going in anyway! What other choice do we have?" He nodded at Romana and the metal dog "Come on, then!" and he raced into the opening.

The passage was dark and narrow but seemed worn with use. The three made their way along it for what seemed like a very long time as it wound further and further down underground.

"We must be somewhere deep under the city!" Romana observed.

"Affirmative" said K-9.

"Slow down" said the Doctor. "I see a light ahead. I'm sure they must be waiting for us but we should at least make it difficult for them to catch us." He took out his sonic screwdriver so it would be ready if needed and nodded to his companions. They slowly made their way into the light.

There was an enormous corridor stretching out before them. It appeared to be completely empty. "It looks like they were here" said the Doctor. He wandered forward to pick up a small metal tube. "They left this behind!" He held it up to Romana with a smile.

"Another lipstick? These ladies sure like to have their lips painted!" She took the tube and twisted it open. Instantly the area around them filled with a strange, thick smoke. The Doctor didn't have time to react before falling to the floor, unconscious.


End file.
